


when the war is done

by daisy_chains



Series: Merlin Fics [44]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Post-Canon, Reunions, did anyone ever expect this from me cos i sure didn't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 12:53:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18965641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisy_chains/pseuds/daisy_chains
Summary: After Arthur’s death, Merlin returns to Camelot. Not right away, not when his job is not quite done, not when there’s a friend-turned-enemy lying dead on the ground and a dragon roaming aimlessly, but eventually, he returns.





	when the war is done

After Arthur’s death, Merlin returns to Camelot. Not right away, not when his job is not quite done, not when there’s a friend-turned-enemy lying dead on the ground and a dragon roaming aimlessly, but eventually, he returns. 

He isn’t sure how Percival knows to greet him at the entrance of the citadel. He hasn’t reached out to anyone since Percival had found him still on the shores of Avalon with Arthur’s body burning on the lake. He isn’t sure how Percival knows, but he does, and in the end, that’s all he can bring himself to care about. 

Aithusa trails behind him, hidden under an illusion of a horse. She, too, is weary of the endless hiding and running. As he greets Percival with a smile-like grimace, he rubs a hand against the top of her head. 

“Is that her?” Percival asks, nodding toward Aithusa. “The dragon you went off to find?” 

Merlin nods, an almost genuine smile ghosting across his face as she nudges her head into his hand. But he lets his hand fall to his side and follows Percival as the knight winds his way through the backstreets of Lower Town, avoiding the market’s usual crowds. Every few steps, Percival glances back over his shoulder, as though afraid if he doesn’t, Merlin will vanish. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Merlin tells him after he almost trips over a cat wandering in the street. “And even if I was, I wouldn’t disappear without telling anyone.” 

“I know,” Percival replies. He falls silent after that, still stealing glances every so often. As they reach the castle courtyard, having left Aithusa in the stables with a warning only Merlin is to care for her and a muttered order not to permanently harm anyone, the knight speaks again. “We’ve lost so many friends already. I’m not sure we could handle losing you, too.” 

Merlin hears the _we_ as the _I_ it is, but does not mention it. He understands the need to shove one’s struggles under the mask of a group. 

“You won’t,” he says instead, and hates how certainly he can say that. The knowledge of his curse weighs heavily in the back of his mind, but he makes an effort to shove it aside for the meanwhile. 

⁋

Merlin stands a step behind Percival, forcing his lungs to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm his rapid heartbeat. Percival glances back at the warlock once more, fist raised to knock on the door to the Queen’s chambers.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he says, though it’s a feeble lie at best, judging by Percival’s doubtful frown.

Still, the knight nods and raps his fist against the door, kindly ignoring how Merlin’s breath hitches.

“Come in.”

 _Oh gods_ , Merlin thinks, _I can’t do this_.

Yet, when the door swings open and Percival watches him expectantly, he takes the few halting steps into the chambers.

The Queen stands at the desk, shuffling papers to one side as she converses with Leon, who stands with his back to him and Percival. As she catches sight of the warlock, she drops the papers with a gasp, causing Leon to whirl around as well.

“Merlin.”

“My lady.”

Hitching her skirt up, the Queen rushes over to him and pulls him into a hug. Had any of the council been there, Merlin is sure they would be scandalized. He’s also sure the Queen wouldn’t care for their opinion one bit.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, guilt and shame constricting his chest.

“Don’t,” she responds, clinging tighter. “It was not your fault.”

He disagrees, how could he not? But this is not a time for arguing about where the fault lies, so he stays quiet.

“You aren’t allowed to disappear for so long. I worry.”

“Is that an order, my lady?”

“Please, Merlin, if even you refuse to call me by name, I think I’ll go mad.” She waits until he nods, glaring just the slightest, then lets it fall away in favor of a small smile. “But yes, that is an order.”

“One I will gladly obey, Gwen.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Also [posted on tumblr](https://tyrseward.tumblr.com/post/190878122541/when-the-war-is-done)!


End file.
